S. cerevisiae was first established as
a tool for genetic studies in the 1930's and 40's - nearly 100 years after
Mendel performed the first controlled genetic experiments on pea plants.
By the end of the 20th century, S. cerevisiae was (and still is!)
widely accepted as one of the most powerful model systems for the study of
genetics and biochemistry.

One of the qualities that make S.
cerevisiae particularly suitable for genetic research is that it is a
unicellular microbe. Its small size makes easy to care forů no large,
smelly cages to clean and maintain. Perhaps more importantly, S.
cerevisiae is eukaryotic (as all Fungi are) and thus yeast cells share
much in common with human cells, unlike single-celled bacteria (also known
as prokaryotes). Yeast also have many well-characterized genetic markers;
the yeast genome contains relatively little "junk DNA" (repetitive
sequences, introns, etc.); yeast cultures grow rapidly and can be readily
transformed with plasmids; mutants in many processes are easy to identify
and isolate; and when frozen under the appropriate conditions, yeast
remain viable and genetically stable for years, perhaps indefinitely.
Furthermore, S. cerevisiae can be maintained in the haploid or
diploid state, thereby expanding the possibilities for genetic research by
making it easier to study both recessive alleles and genes essential for
life.

One of the greatest advances in yeast genetics
occurred in 1996 when a global consortium finished sequencing the genome
of S. cerevisiae (the first eukaryotic genome to be completed!).
The results of this sequencing effort revealed that the 16 chromosomes of
S. cerevisiae harbor about 6,200 potential protein-encoding genes
(also known as open reading frames, or ORF's), nearly 40% of which have
obvious homologues in other eukaryotic organisms. At that time, less than
half of the yeast ORF's identified were being studied, and even today,
hundreds remain poorly characterized or have no known function.

In addition to providing a detailed genetic
map, this sequencing triumph helped usher in the era of genomics. Instead
of being limited to the study of one or a few genes, researchers developed
techniques to study changes in the expression levels of thousands of genes
simultaneously.

On this site, you will find a variety of
resources for using S. cerevisiae in the classroom, in "wet" labs, and
in computer labs.
Additional background information is provided for students and non-yeast
geneticists. Combined, this information demonstrates how "awesome
power of yeast genetics" can impact undergraduate science education.